Page 9 of Botched
I get out and grab my bag from the trunk. Dropping it onto the parking lot gravel, I wheel it behind me toward the back door. A handful of fans stand by the gates, desperately trying to get the attention of any wrestler who walks by. The sound of my name echoes, but I keep my head ducked low. I don’t want to interact with them. Most of them probably want me to sign something that theycan sell online or a chance tell all their stupid friends on social media about how much of a dick I am.
A security guard checks my badge before I’m permitted into the backstage area. It’s a thin, grey-painted hallway. Production crates line the sides, making it necessary to sidestep to get through the area. The lights are that dull yellow that no one ever looks good under. Doors line the hallway, most of them unavailable for talent to use.
I stop at one with a sheet of paper taped to it, my name printed on the white paper. Perks of being the champion, you get your own locker room. I don’t have to share with my loser coworkers who smell like shit and want to talk about video games.
Right before I can push the door open and have some peace before the show tonight, one of said loser coworkers calls out my name. “Theo, Theo!”
I whip around, rolling my eyes. “Heard you the first time, Austin.”
Austin Slater is a couple of inches taller than me, one of the newer signees to GRW. Not quite sure why Nathan felt the need to give the kid a contract, but it’s his business, not mine. Austin hasn’t quite picked up on the fact that I’m not interested in being friends. He likes to hang around me as if he’s going to change my mind. He’s rocking an oompa-loompa orange tan with his blond hair slicked back with too much gel.
“Nathan wants to talk to you.”
I was expecting that. Tilting my head back, I groan. Just because I was expecting it doesn’t mean I want to deal with it. “He couldn’t just fucking text me?” I ask in a grumble. It’s not as if I don’t know what he wants to talk about. ‘Don’t let yourself get caught cheating on your fiancée, blah, blah, blah.’
After opening the door to my locker room and putting my bag inside, I walk away from Austin without another word. Maybe he’ll get smart and stop trying to be my friend. It’s not going to happen.
Nathan’s office is a few doors down from my locker room, and a similar printed piece of paper is on the door, marking it to make it easy to find. He normally has an open-door policy for talent, so I don’t bother to knock. I push the door open. Nathan looks up from his phone call, sees me, and ends the call quickly.
His usually kind face looks far from happy right now. There’s a frown plastered on it, his forehead wrinkled, his dark eyes full of disappointment. There are dark bags underneath them. I’m pretty used to seeing him like this. He’s hardly all smiles with me, like he is some of the other wrestlers.
“Have a seat, Theo.” He gestures to the shitty rolling chair across from him.
I drop into it, leaning back lazily. “I know I fucked up, Nathan.” I don’t want to listen to him tell me how badly I messed up. I’ll get ahead of the curve here.
He rubs at his temples, where his dark hair is beginning to turn grey. I think he’s aged a couple of years since I became champion nine months ago. None of this should be surprising to him; I’ve never once hid who I am.
“This is about more than screwing up, Theo,” he says. “Do you know how bad it is for the company when our champion is constantly in the news for…everything you’ve been in the news for? A few weeks ago, it was for bullying that kid at that convention. Now, it’s the cheating scandal. This isn’t the first time that you’ve been seen with a girl who isn’t Veronica, and—”
“—Veronica and I broke up,” I cut him off. “So, we don’t have to worry about the ‘cheating scandal’ side of things anymore. I’m free.”
I decide not to add in how the kid at the convention deserved what he got. Nathan’s very tired of that argument. The kid was being a snot-nosed brat and talking shit. All I did was tell him that he was a pimple-faced loser who’d never get a girlfriend. Not the worst thing I’ve ever said by a long shot. Of course, his mom had tobitch and whine about it on social media until they got free tickets for a year.
The news of the breakup doesn’t look to relieve Nathan any. He looks even more distressed as he realizes what me being single means. I get to be even more of a menace. I don’t have to be discreet about going home with girls anymore.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” It takes him a bit to respond. He chooses his words carefully.
I shrug. I’m not. Although it’s been a weird few days without Veronica in my life. No calling, no texting. My bed’s been empty. She hasn’t reached out since I left her apartment. I was fully expecting her to beg me to come back by this point. Guess she’s already moved on, and the last thing I want to do is admit that bothers me a little bit.
Nothing I can do about it now.
“Is that all this meeting was about?”
Nathan nods. “Please try to stay out of headlines for a bit, Theo. I would really like tonothave to address your indiscretions every single time I open a social media app. You’re the champion. You’re damn good at what you do.”
It’s my personal life that’s the problem. We’ve had this conversation before. “I’ll see what I can do.” When I stand to leave, something else crosses my mind. I smack my hand against the surface of his desk. “Aurora.”
“What?”
“She’s this indie wrestler. I don’t know the rest of her details. She wrestled at C1W this week. The show’s online. She’s damn good, Nathan. I’d scoop her up before another company does. She’ll be a star someday given the right platform.”
Nathan looks shocked and fuck; so am I. Scouting talent isn’t something that I do. That’s a Hext thing. I don’t know why I care. I could lie and say it’s because I feel like an ass knowing that I hurther like I did. I apologized. Whether Aurora accepts it or not isn’t my problem.
I’m doing it because I want her closer to me. I want to wear her down and make her give in. Make her accept how much she wants me. I stop at nothing to get what I want. If that means getting her a job, well, she can thank me for it later, preferably on her knees. It also doesn’t hurt to get on Nathan’s good side for when I inevitably fuck up again.
I’m the champion, boosting the GRW locker room is what I’m supposed to do.
I lower myself back into the uncomfortable rolling chair. “I actually have an idea too. A storyline that Aurora could fit into if we decide to bring her in.”